2018 The Vineyard House Cabernet Franc “Block 5” Estate Vineyard Oakville
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 97+ Points
Concentrated and focused, this deep, classy bottling is scaled more like an Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is a medley of dark cherry, Cassis, blueberry, violet, cedar, tobacco, baking spice and vanilla scents of more or less equal intensity. The cherry, Cassis, violet and blueberry flavors show fine clarity on the palate and they prove as rich as hoped, if more youthfully coiled. That reserve brings a bit more prominence to the wine’s tannic spine, its oaky spice and firming minerally. The finish is lingering and precisely balanced, which will make it a stylish dinner companion. Expect three to five years or more of impressive evolution. From the Hermosa Vineyard, blended with 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. 150 cases produced.